Replacing a 9500 GT with what?

[RAZORX1970]

Hello,

I'd like to replace an agging 9500 GT video card PCIe with a new card, but as cheap as possible. What would be better for all new games, and is there something in the $100-$120 range?

I was considering a 570ti?

 

[RAZORX1970]

Also I have an HP machine which this 9500 GT came with to begin with, so I know I'll need a new PSU to handle anything I add at this point. It's a quad core processor machine with 8gig of memory, and I know it will never be a top of the line speed demon, but I'm sure there has to be a video card upgrade I can do that's economical and better than this 9500 GT.

 

[Gulli]

Hello,

I'd like to replace an agging 9500 GT video card PCIe with a new card, but as cheap as possible. What would be better for all new games, and is there something in the $100-$120 range?

I was considering a 570ti?

Be sure to check what your system can support: how much power can the PSU supply, how much heat can your case get out, will your CPU bottleneck the graphics card, will the card even fit physically inside the case.

One card you can't go wrong with (will fit in early every case, requires little power (barely more than the GT 9500) and will run circles around the GT 9500, is the HD 6670, it goes for about $80 (American) on Newegg).

 

[RAZORX1970]

I was considering an ATI but didn't know which one since there's sooooo many higher numbers than 6670 out there too.

I also planned to buy a new PSU to toss into the case, so power won't be an issue.

 

[Guest]

Here, this might help. The recommendations for June 2011 should be on their way, so keep an eye out for those.

1. If you really want to stick to your budget, then a Radeon 5770 a.k.a 6770 is your card. The 6770 is just a re-badged 5770, so no point buying one if the price is any higher.

2. If you can stretch a bit, I would suggest the NVIDIA GTX 460 768MB or the Radeon 6790.

I know that it's not on the recommended buy list, but if you look at the last page of the article - GPU Hierarchy, and have a look at the prices on Newegg, I think you'll find that the Radeon 6790 and GTX 460 768MB offer great value for a teeny bit more. I kinda like NVIDIA - CUDA, PhysX and all that - but it's your call. Here are some reviews:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6790-barts-gpu-geforce-gtx-460,2917.html

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6790-review/1

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/04/05/amd-radeon-hd-6790-1gb-review/1

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_6790/1.html

I'd say that the GTX 460 768MB narrowly beats the Radeon 6790, no?


3. And if you're quite elastic, the Radeon 6850 offers tremendous bang-for-buck, but is quite expensive.

One thing to keep in mind is that MSI and EVGA manufacture great cards while XFX have a (double) lifetime warranty on theirs. Some EVGA cards also have a lifetime warranty as well, but they're usually hi-end ones. Sapphire is also good, but not in my top 3 list. That winds up my rhetoric. Good luck!